{"id":11867,"date":"2024-07-13T20:35:49","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T20:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=11867"},"modified":"2024-07-13T20:35:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-13T20:35:49","slug":"hurricanes-are-trapping-small-island-nations-in-ever-worsening-spirals-of-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=11867","title":{"rendered":"Hurricanes Are Trapping Small Island Nations in Ever-Worsening Spirals of Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By the time Beryl arrived, Grenada had already spent 20 years recovering from Hurricane Ivan (2004), a disaster that cost a staggering 200 percent of GDP and precipitated a debt crisis. In neighboring Dominica, Hurricane Maria (2017) caused damage worth 226 percent of GDP: It is now one of the most heavily indebted countries<\/a> in the world.<\/p>\n

Ponder these figures: Can you envisage a remotely comparable event\u2014short of nuclear Armageddon\u2014that could cause damage on a similar relative scale in larger, richer states, and do so repeatedly?<\/p>\n

Debt-Disaster-Debt<\/h2>\n

Flood waters remain, and the full impact of Beryl is yet to be assessed. But one thing is clear: The cost will be far higher than these countries and their citizens can afford. Disaster funds have been dusted off in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, alongside public appeals for cash donations<\/a> to restore services, but support will be insufficient, and governments will have to take on yet more debt for rebuilding.<\/p>\n

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